Politics · Germany · 8 hrs ago
Claudia Roth says her earlier criticism of Berlinale remarks was a mistake
Claudia Roth, a former German culture minister, said she was wrong to criticise Berlinale speakers who accused Israel of apartheid.
She made the remarks on the German podcast “Jung & Naiv” while discussing her time in office.
The dispute concerns the 2024 Berlinale film festival, where a film critical of Israel received an award and speakers made accusations against the country.
Roth had previously called an accusation of genocide against Israel at the festival a low point and said it did not describe the situation in Gaza.
She said pressure from the Central Council of Jews and others left her weak or overwhelmed, and called her earlier response a mistake.
Roth also recounted friends asking when she would free herself from the burden of German history.
Green Party colleague Volker Beck condemned her comments as a form of avoiding historical responsibility, comparing them with past arguments against Germany’s culture of remembrance.
Claudia Roth said her earlier criticism of remarks at the 2024 Berlinale was a mistake.
The former German culture minister said pressure from the Central Council of Jews and others had affected her response.
She also described friends asking when she would free herself from the burden of Germany’s history.
Volker Beck, a fellow Green politician and president of the German-Israeli Society, criticized Roth’s comments as a form of German guilt avoidance.
The remarks were made in an interview on the online program Jung & Naiv, published in an article by Bild on November 5, 2026.
- Who
- Claudia Roth, a former German culture minister, said her earlier criticism was a mistake. Volker Beck criticized her comments.
- What
- Roth said she had been wrong to criticize Berlinale remarks accusing Israel of apartheid. She said pressure had influenced her.
- When
- Roth made the comments in an interview published on November 5, 2026. The Berlinale remarks she discussed were from 2024.
- Where
- In an interview on the online program Jung & Naiv. The Berlinale event was in Berlin.
- Why
- Roth said pressure from the Central Council of Jews and others had made her feel weak or overwhelmed.
Claudia Roth
Volker Beck
Earlier criticism
Claudia Roth
Roth said her criticism of Berlinale remarks accusing Israel of apartheid was a mistake, made under pressure.
Volker Beck
Beck said Roth’s comments reflected “classic German guilt avoidance.
Friends’ views
Claudia Roth
Roth recounted friends asking when she would free herself from the burden of Germany’s history.
Volker Beck
Beck said Roth was adopting the idea she attributed to her friends.
At the Berlinale, Roth applauded speeches that, according to Bild, accused Israel of genocide.
Roth called the accusation of genocide the low point of the event and said it did not describe the situation in Gaza.
In an interview on Jung & Naiv, Roth said her earlier criticism of Berlinale remarks accusing Israel of apartheid was a mistake.
- Person
- Claudia Roth
- Earlier event
- Berlinale, 2024
- Interview program
- Jung & Naiv
- Publication date
- November 5, 2026
- Critic
- Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society
What people are saying
But there was such tremendous pressure from the Central Council, from so many circles. (…) I was too weak or too overwhelmed in that situation and it was a mistake.
When will you finally free yourself from this guilt of history? Or when will you deal with it differently? And when will you be free to deal with it differently?
I am appalled by this development.
Roth’s rambling is only one step away from Höcke’s accusation of a “cult of guilt.
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